Invisible
by Sparkly Faerie
Summary: If there is a secret in the middle of nowhere, does that mean that no one will ever find the truth? Having just moved into remote Tomoeda, Syaoran immediately finds himself in the midst of something so strange that he can't even begin to describe it. SxS
1. Prologue

**A pet project that I've been working on for a few weeks. After reading the chapter where Sakura captured the Illusion Card in the manga, this little idea struck me and wouldn't leave. It's different to what I've done before (since I'm going to try to keep Syaoran as the main character instead of Sakura), so I hope I can pull it off. I hope you enjoy!**

**Also; _I HATE THE DOCUMENT MANAGER AND EDITOR!!_

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

**Summary:** "It takes a special kind of person to see through deception and discover the truth. Spells, curses, to make one unseen. Unheard. Unknown to the outside world. Sometimes," she paused, "being invisible isn't all it's cracked up to be."

**Rating:** M

**Pairings:** SxS

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

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**Invisibl****e**

**Prologue**

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…_

The hospital's monitors sounded each and every heartbeat that managed to pump its way through her chest as she lay there, cold and lifeless. Eyes closed, mouth open, tubes going in and out of her body; she looked like some kind of freakish science experiment gone wrong. Skin pale, hair frayed and brittle, chest rising and falling under the blankets; the father that kept a lonely vigil at her bedside long dead.

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…_

The nursing home's cream curtains did not block out the afternoon sunlight; it spilled in through the window and hit the linoleum floor, bouncing around the walls. The twittering of the nurse as she went through the daily routine; washing her body from top to toe, changing her clothes, changing the blankets, changing the IV drip in her arm.

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…_

"And how are we today, dear?" She chatted as she fluttered about the room. "Your PET scan threw us quite the little mystery yesterday, you know. In a coma for ten years, and still having a fully functional brain? It's quite the miracle you're still breathing on your own. The doctors at the hospital aren't quite sure what to do with you. But so long as you keep dreaming, you'll be alright." She finished putting the last of the blankets away.

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…_

The nurse left the room, oblivious to the girl who stood outside in the hall; in fact, no one had ever noticed her before. Standing still as passers by walked right past her, the girl watched sadly, feeling nothing; the numbness of her body matched only by the longing in her heart.

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…_

She felt the tug of the curse on her spirit. It was time to leave again. Grimacing as the spell took her from her post, awareness slipping from her grasp as the darkness reached her, she swore. In the endless abyss, all she could hear was the beeping of the monitor; sounding the beating of her own heart.

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…

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**Prologue equals finished.**

**We'll just go where this story takes us, yeah? I know the ending that I want, but half the fun is getting there.**

**Geez, does anyone actually read these notes, or should I just stop wasting time trying to think of what to say? Lol.**

**Until next time!**

**Sparkly Faerie**


	2. Chapter One

**I figured that just the prologue wasn't enough, since I wasn't getting a lotta feedback, so I'm putting this out early. I hope you like.**

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

**Summary:** "It takes a special kind of person to see through deception and discover the truth. Spells, curses, to make one unseen. Unheard. Unknown to the outside world. Sometimes," she paused, "being invisible isn't all it's cracked up to be."

**Rating:** M

**Pairings:** SxS

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

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**Invisible**

**Chapter One**

"Here we are, everyone!"

Li Yelan and her five children spilled into the parlour of their new home, inspecting the nooks and crannies of their large, old house. Colours were faded after decades of neglect, the floorboards rickety and worn from many years of abuse. The once-impressive drapes were moth-eaten and tattered; one of them had fallen in a heap on the floor, left to accumulate dust. The four young women could not believe that Yelan had actually looked through the property beforehand, while the young man simply wrinkled his nose in disdain; it was not at all the grand home that they had been promised. It looked more like an old, rickety house, built out of whatever scrap materials the builders could get their hands on.

"Yes, that goes down the hall, third door on the left." Yelan instructed the movers, who were carrying boxes upon boxes of their belongings. Her young companions hadn't the heart to disillusion her as to the failings of the old house; the sheer joy alight in her face was enough to stay even the toughest of her charges – even her son could not take away this moment of utter bliss from his mother. Looking amongst themselves, they each decided that she would eventually discover them for herself. "Upstairs and the second room on the right."

Wandering outside, one could see the forest that stretched off toward the south, and the inordinate size of the garden; it took over half of the available space in the yard, and was long overgrown with weeds and dead shrubbery. Perhaps, if one were to have spent a week or two in the gardens to improve them, then one might have had a suitable space to plant flower bushes, but it would have required a massive effort from all six of the inhabitants to even get it to that stage.

There were the remains of an old wooden swing on the far east side of the property, which had long since been worn away by the elements. The old, gnarly sakura tree that it had hung from was still standing, tall and proud, next to the freshwater pond that was inhabited by koi and carp, as well as the odd frog or two. The lily pads rested weightlessly on the surface of the lake, barely moving with the ripples of the water as the activities beneath the surface disturbed the crystalline water.

It was by this pond that the five young people congregated, eager to be out of Yelan's way. The young women sat on the edge of the pond, twittering away about unimportant matters; at least, they seemed unimportant to the young man sitting about twenty feet from them. A frown worried at his brow as he stared at the water, his discontent eating away at him from the inside out. He felt that his mother was most definitely doing them a disservice by moving to this God-forsaken place to 'start a new life'.

Yelan's husband had passed away two months previously, leaving the family with a large debt; which had to be paid off with a large portion of family's savings. Yelan had proceeded to uproot the entire family and move them to another country, in order to get away from the constant attention from their previous neighbourhood; the sidelong stares and unstoppable gossip that plagued them wherever they happened to go had been proving exceedingly difficult to ignore.

This left the young man in a bit of a state; on the one hand, he was glad that they had the chance to start afresh, but resented the fact that it had to have been done in such a secretive fashion. It wasn't that he'd ever had many close friends – it was just that he'd had to listen to his sisters bitch and moan about it the entire plane trip over. If there was one thing that Li Syaoran was good at, dealing with people – particularly female people – was not it.

* * *

His room was, as yet, sparsely furnished, with a pile of boxes in the centre, containing clothing and other possessions of his. His bed was in the back corner of the room, already made. His desk sat at the front of the room, in the corner left of the door; atop it sat a television set and numerous boxes of books, knick-knacks, and other little things that he liked to be kept in his space.

There were green curtains drawn over the window, which, should he look outside, showed a spectacular view of the setting sun over the hills toward the west. The light that managed to shine through the curtains lit a green patch on the floor, bouncing off and illuminating the beige walls. A new lock on the door ensured privacy from overzealous sisters.

Syaoran lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling with a straw from his last drink hanging out of his mouth. Chewing on the plastic, he huffed. The day after next was his first day of school, which he had to catch a bus to attend. He and his family lived out in the middle of nowhere – as did many of the families that attended the school – and therefore were a considerable distance from the nearest town, where the school and shopping centres were located. As such, one could go for days without seeing one's neighbours if one did not wish to leave the house.

That suited Syaoran just fine; he hated being around other people. It was hard enough for him to be with his own family; that had only escalated since his father's death. He had not been as close to his father as his sisters had been, and therefore was not as affected by his death as they had been. That was not to say that he had not been affected, of course he had, but he could not say he was sorry to see the old bastard go. The bastard was unfaithful, he was a liar, and he was most certainly a crook. With that reputation off their backs, Syaoran was sure that they would be all the better off. But that didn't take away the sting of suddenly having only one parent. Yes, he would miss his _father_; but he would not miss the man.

"Dinner's ready!" One of his sisters shouted through the door, knocking softly. "Mother says to hurry, or it'll get cold."

* * *

If one were to watch the old tree by the pond as the sun fell, one would have seen the most bewildering sight.

As the sun fell below the horizon, a strange, silvery glow emanated from the tree itself, the rustling of the leaves bringing forth a change in the atmosphere. The air temperature dropped about five degrees in less than a second; the howling of the wind suggesting something sinister was on the approach. As the wind died down, the glow condensed and formed the outline of a young woman. When the sun finally slipped out of sight, the woman looked at herself – dressed in a long, red cheongsam with black trim, carrying a fan in one hand and the other trying to close the slit on her left, which exposed the entire length of her leg. Giving up as she realised it was a lost cause, she gazed up at the lights in the house, and sighed. Her eyes were closed as a light breeze toyed with her long hair. "How many more families will you have me haunt, Stepmother?" She whispered into the wind as she began trekking up to the house.

* * *

The beginning of dinner was a fiasco, to say the least.

The six-person family crammed into a dinning room that was barely big enough for a family of four, squeezing in to get a seat at the table. Fuutie had tripped up over air almost as soon as she had entered the room, Sheifa had spilled half of her plate on the floor, trying to make her way over to the table, and Yelan had knocked into Syaoran rather roughly, trying to dodge the flying noodles from her youngest daughter's plate. As a result, Syaoran had knocked over three of the six chairs and hit the floor with a nasty 'thud'. Franren had all but jumped out of the way, landing on Feimei's foot. The resulting howl stopped everyone in their tracks.

Laughing at themselves and their clumsiness, the five women had then sat down at the table, and proceeded to enjoy their meal. Syaoran, opting _not_ to stick around in case there was a repeat performance, instead took his meal to eat on the back porch. Flicking on the outside light, he settled down on the steps with his plate balancing on one knee, staring out absently toward the forest as he ate.

About halfway through his meal, he noticed something peculiar in the trees. What seemed to be the outline of a person was slipping in and out of the tree line; he couldn't make out the gender, but the form was most definitely human. Putting his plate down on the porch, he stood and made his way over toward the shadow, intent on finding out who it was; perhaps the neighbours lived closer than they had originally thought?

The closer he got to the shadow, the further it slipped into the trees. Not really paying any heed as to where he was headed, he followed the girl – he was now close enough to discern that the silhouette was female – deeper into the woods. The low branches snagged his clothing; low brambles of various bushes tore at his socks and the bottom of his jeans, his shirt was caught on various sticks and twigs that stuck out at him from all directions, the roots of the trees tripping him up more than once.

She stopped walking. He was closer now. The girl was almost in arm's reach; strange, how he could not see any discerning features – but it was dark, and he couldn't see much at all. Reaching out to touch her, his hand passed straight through – it must have been a trick of the light – the cold that enveloped his hand felt like he'd plunged it into a bucket of ice water.

She turned to him – he still couldn't see who she was. Bright green eyes blinked at him, before the shadow disappeared altogether, into thin air.

* * *

Syaoran snapped out of his trance to realise that he was alone, in the woods, utterly lost, reaching out into nothingness. _What_ had he been thinking? Hadn't his mother _specifically_ warned him _not_ to go wandering in the woods before they'd arrived?

Looking around himself in a frenzy, Syaoran tried to find something, anything, that would help him get back to the house. Seeing nothing, he turned and punched one of the trees in frustration. How the hell was he supposed to get back to the house if he couldn't find his way?!

Cursing his stupidity and curiosity, he picked a direction. Perhaps, even if he didn't come out at his house, he would find someone who could help him on the other side. Wandering in the dark, he murmured a bunch of curses. A stray beam of moonlight provided him with a light to read his watch by. Eleven thirty. How long had he been walking for?!

Cursing, he continued to stumble along in the dark, this time oblivious to the shadow that followed him. Praying that he was heading in the right direction, he continued on.

* * *

"Syaoran?!"

They were worried. Syaoran had told them that he would be eating out the back, and hadn't come in since. Yelan had gone outside to scold him for being out so late, and had discovered only his half-finished meal, with the young man in question nowhere to be seen. She had then proceeded to search the _entire_ house, the _entire_ garden, and the road out the front of the property. Finding no trace of him, the women of the house had split into two groups, and were proceeding to search the forest, with Feimei remaining at the house in case he came home.

"Syaoran?!" Fuutie shouted again. "Syaoran, this isn't funny! You're in big trouble!"

"Way to get him to come back." Franren hissed, gripping her older sister's arm in a vice grip.

"Shut up!" Fuutie hissed back. "At least I'm trying! Syaoran?!" She called out again.

The flashlight lit up the ground, showing many a treacherous rock or root in their path. Managing to avoid tripping over, the two of them picked their way through the dense undergrowth. "Syaoran!" They both called.

"Over here!" Answered them. Looking at each other for a moment, they turned their flashlight in the direction of their younger brother's voice.

"Where are you?"

"Over here!"

Trudging onward, they found him in less than thirty seconds. Dishevelled, little cuts from sharp rocks when he'd tripped, and dirt smudged all over him, Syaoran winced in the harsh light from the flashlight and shielded his eyes. "What the hell are you doing out here?!" Fuutie immediately flew into mother-hen mode, absent their own mother. "It's dangerous to wander in the forest, even during the day!"

Syaoran flashed Franren a look out of the corner of his eye, seeing her on her cell, telling their mother that they'd found him. "I saw someone in the trees while I was still back at the house." He returned his gaze to his eldest sister. "I don't know what I was thinking; I just followed her."

"Did you catch her?" Fuutie asked, somewhat sceptically. Syaoran thought about it. Would he tell his eldest sister, the sceptic of all sceptics, about some shadow that he saw in the woods?

No, he decided, he would not. That story would be a secret. "Nah." He shook his head. "Nah, I lost her."

"Um, guys?"

"Well, next time, don't go wandering off after some strange girl!" Fuutie ignored her sister's timid interruption.

"Hey, guys?"

"I'll do what I want!" Syaoran fired right back. "You're not my mother!"

"Guys?"

"I may not be Mother, but _she_ said not to go wandering off!"

"_Guys_?!"

"_WHAT_?!" The two of them broke off their tirade, snapping at the other sister.

"What's that?" She pointed, back in the direction that they'd come, shining the flashlight on it.

Syaoran forgot the argument with his eldest sister – much to her chagrin – and crouched down to pick it up. "It's…" he held it up for them to see, "…a doll."

"Wow." Fuutie took it from him. "It's dirty, but it's really pretty." She spat on it, rubbing away the dirt over the green eyes. "It's in pretty good condition, too. I can't see any cracks. Sheifa might like it."

"Can we just go back?" Syaoran complained. "I've been wandering around in the cold for hours. I'd like to get to bed, if that's alright with you?"

"It's your own stupid fault." Fuutie muttered, starting the trudge back to the house. Ignoring the comment, Syaoran and Franren followed.

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_**Cheongsam:**_A chinese dress worn by women.  
**Just do a Google search for the word, and look at the fourth picture. The dress I'm talking about is the fifth from the left.**

**Until next time!**

**Sparkly Faerie**


	3. Chapter Two

**I've not gotten much feedback so far. I suppose, it's only the early stages of the story, so I shouldn't complain yet. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

**Summary:** "It takes a special kind of person to see through deception and discover the truth. Spells, curses, to make one unseen. Unheard. Unknown to the outside world. Sometimes," she paused, "being invisible isn't all it's cracked up to be."

**Rating:** M

**Pairings:** SxS

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

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**Invisible**

**Chapter Two**

A week previously, Syaoran would have never believed it, but he was glad to be going to school every day.

Strange things had been happening all week; things that just couldn't have been accidents. Things went missing all the time. He and his family had been tripped up on air more times then he cared to imagine. Strange sounds in the middle of the night had all of his sisters and cousin huddled up in his room from all hours. To put it bluntly, the house was just plain weird. He had also seen the shadow a few more times, usually around the lake.

Aside from desiring being away from the strange happenings in the house, he had surprisingly made two very good friends at school. Hiiragizawa Eriol and Daidouji Tomoyo – who had forced him to call them 'Eriol-kun' and 'Tomoyo-chan', while they called him 'Syaoran-kun' – had quickly welcomed him to the school on his first day, and had taken to stalking him around the school grounds – Tomoyo having that ridiculous camera trained on him, despite his protests. Eventually, he had given up arguing with her, and simply glared every time she pulled it out.

That day, his mother had invited them to the house after school to help Syaoran catch up on the work that he'd missed while they were moving. To say that Tomoyo was excited was an understatement; she'd done nothing but babble all day about how much she was looking forward to it. On the bus that afternoon, she had her camera out once again, focusing on Syaoran and asking him questions.

"Do we get to meet your sisters?" She asked, handing the camera to Eriol to hold, and tying up her long hair.

"Nah," Syaoran shook his head, "they'll all be at work."

She whined. "You'll have to invite us 'round for dinner someday, then."

"Whatever." Syaoran grunted, staring out the window. Eriol and Tomoyo's stops both rolled by without stopping, while the three of them talked up the back of the bus. Eventually, it was only the three of them left.

"You must really live out of the way, Syaoran-kun." Eriol whistled.

"Yeah."

"It's weird to be going out this far." Tomoyo added.

It wasn't long before the bus rolled to a stop outside Syaoran's front gate. The house was not visible behind the large hedge, but it was familiar enough to Tomoyo to give her pause. "I… think I've been to this house before."

"Maybe." Syaoran shrugged, opening the gate for them to go in ahead of them. "The woman that leases it to Mother said that a lotta people lived here before us. Maybe you knew someone out here." He closed it behind them as they passed through. "Come on; Mother isn't home for another half hour, so I'll get you guys something to eat, or whatever." Stepping into the parlour, Syaoran sniffed in disdain. "Sorry 'bout the mess." He said, referring to the boxes left over by the door from unpacking. "Come on; kitchen's this way." He led them through the house.

Tomoyo stopped in her tracks with a gasp, prompting Syaoran and Eriol to turn around and stare. "What is it, Tomoyo-chan?" Eriol asked.

"I… I know why I was at this house before." Tomoyo uttered, hands over her mouth, tears in her eyes.

* * *

Tomoyo sat on the edge of Syaoran's bed, a mug of tea in her hands. Eriol sat on Syaoran's desk chair back to front, with his chin resting on the backrest, his drink resting on the desk behind him. Syaoran sat on the windowsill with his mug in hand, staring out into the forest. It was amazing how different it looked in the daylight. Instead of looking dark and dangerous, it looked almost enticing. Syaoran had to shake himself out of his thoughts when Tomoyo began speaking.

"When I was three, I moved into this area with Okaa-sama after my parent's divorce." She began. "We didn't know anyone in the area for about three days, before Okaa-sama found out that her estranged cousin lived here too. So, when they finally got together, Okaa-sama would bring me over to this house a lot."

"Your Okaa's cousin lived here?" Eriol raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, and her husband and two kids." Tomoyo nodded. "Touya-san was older than me by about seven years, so I never played with him, but Sakura-chan was my age. We used to play together all the time. This was her room." She wiped her eyes, looking around. "We were best friends for three years. When Sakura-chan's Okaa died when we were four, Okaa-sama stopped coming, but I used to visit after school every day."

"Did they move away?" Syaoran asked suddenly, thoughtful.

"No." She shook her head. "A year after Sakura-chan's Okaa died, her Otou remarried." Tomoyo scowled. "She was a horrible woman."

"I remember her." Eriol piped up. "She used to pick Sakura-chan and Touya-san up from school when we were in the first grade." He grimaced. "She used to yell a lot at the other kids. Didn't the middle-school teachers suspect she was abusing Touya-san?"

"Yeah." Tomoyo nodded again. "And, whenever I'd come over, she'd call us horrible names."

"Sounds like hell." Syaoran looked outside again. "What happened to the kids?"

"Touya-san went missing when we were six. He was only thirteen at the time." Tomoyo shook. "Just up and disappeared in the middle of the night. No one knows what happened to him. Some people think he's dead, but no one's ever found a body. He was classed as a runaway, and that was that. Nothing else ever happened about it."

"What happened to the girl?" Syaoran asked, chills down his spine.

"The story is," Tomoyo took a sip of her tea, "that, when we were seven, she took a walk down into the forest. Her Otou's wife was supposedly worried, so she went looking for her." Tomoyo shook her head. "The ambulance had to come from the next town over, so it took about half an hour to get there. By the time they got to her, she was already in a coma."

"Did she live?" Syaoran asked.

"Yeah, she lived." Tomoyo scoffed. "But she never woke up. She's still in a coma in the next town. I go to visit her once a month. I'm her only visitor now, since her Otou died five years ago. He divorced his wife six months after Sakura-chan went under. Okaa-sama manages this house now, until she wakes up."

There was silence for a while, each of them just sipping at their tea. Downstairs, they could hear Yelan return home and leave again, calling out something about shopping. "But that was ten years ago." Tomoyo came out with suddenly. "Every family that's lived in this house since swears that its haunted by Touya-san."

"Why's that?" Syaoran's head snapped toward her once again.

"Just little things, at first." Tomoyo shrugged. "Things go missing, people trip all the time, seeing shadows at night." She explained. "Then there's the strange sounds and the cold chills. The power usually goes out in the evenings after that. By the time that happens, doors slam, there's strange gusts of wind, the doors lock and unlock. A few family's pets have wound up outside the fences or gone missing."

"Well, if Touya-san _did_ die here, then it makes sense, I guess." Eriol pondered.

"It's a girl." Syaoran shook his head.

"How d'you know?"

"I saw the shadow on the first night I was here." Syaoran shrugged. "Followed her right into the forest. I was lost for hours after."

"Did you see what she looked like?" Tomoyo asked excitedly.

"Nah," Syaoran shook his head, "too dark. All I know is she has green eyes." He paused. "But aren't we supposed to be doing homework?"

* * *

The girl lurked above the young man's – his name was Syaoran, wasn't it? – room as they worked. Lurking in the space between the ceiling and the attic floor, she could hear everything that was being discussed.

Deciding that things needed to get a little more interesting, she spied the cables that supplied electricity to the room. With a mischievous grin, she reached out, and rattled them. The effect was rather amusing.

**

* * *

**"What the hell?" Syaoran jumped as the lights – the sun had set a while ago – flickered on and off. Tomoyo and Eriol merely looked around, spooked.

"Um, I think we have to go, Syaoran-kun." Tomoyo voiced timidly, looking at the time. "My Okaa-sama's driver will be here to pick us up in five minutes."

"Huh?" Syaoran looked back as the lights stopped flickering. "Oh, ok."

The three of them made their way down to the parlour. After saying their goodbyes, Syaoran watched them make their way down to the road, turning and waving at him as they left. He was scared out of his wits at the sound of a voice behind him.

"Ah, good ol' Tomoyo-chan." Syaoran spun around on the spot, almost falling over. The transparent girl behind him stared at him with as much shock as he stared at her. "You can… hear me?" Syaoran nodded. "Can you see me?" He nodded again. "Wow," She whistled low, "_that's_ never happened before. I mean, people have seen my shadow before, but no one's actually seen _me_ when I didn't want them to. I'll have to be more careful."

"Who're you?" He demanded.

She smiled. "You know who I am." She giggled, before she disappeared from sight. Syaoran was left alone, blinking at an empty space.

"…what?"

**

* * *

**Syaoran stared at the ceiling that night. He had opted to skip dinner, worrying his mother, and had instead spent the time surfing the net for any reported incidents regarding the house. As far as he could tell from his research, no one else had seen any ghosts, bar him.

But who was she? '_You know who I am_'? How did he know who she was? No one had died at the house, of that he was sure, and the only people who'd lived there swore that it was the boy who haunted it.

"You're going about it the wrong way."

"Huh?" Syaoran looked around for the girl, and seeing no one. It quickly dawned on him that her voice was currently disembodied, simply floating around the room.

"You're looking in the wrong places." The voice came to him again. Over toward his open closet – wait; _open _closet? – a shirt floated out of it's own accord, spinning around the room.

"Where should I look, then?" He felt very odd, talking to a disembodied voice.

There was a pause as the shirt flew back into the closet. "Try asking the local gangs." She joked sarcastically. "They send enough kids in here for overnight courage tests." He heard a snicker. "Oh, the amount of boys your age I've seen wet their pants." She laughed. "Though the girls aren't much better."

"Why can't you just tell me?" He asked.

She came into view, sitting on the edge of his bed. The moonlight that spilled in through the window passed right through her body, not even leaving a shadow on the floor. Familiar green eyes blinked at him. "Because that would be too easy." She tucked a stray lock of transparent auburn hair behind her ear. "Besides, it's not that hard to figure it out. You've already heard my name."

"I have?" She nodded. He pondered, the girl watching him with a wicked smile. "Hey, were you the one who led me out into the woods last week?"

"Yup." She stood and twirled in the middle of the room. "And I'm the one that tripped your sisters on the first night you were here. I make all the noises that keep your sisters up." She paused in her spinning to look at him over her shoulder. "But I'm glad that you found my doll. I dropped it there when this," she motioned up and down, "happened to me."

"Are you a ghost?" Syaoran asked, feeling somewhat stupid.

She paused, regarding him with a strange expression. "I'm transparent, I can walk through walls," she demonstrated, "and I cause problems for the living. What do _you_ think?"

"I think…" he paused, "… that in my research, I've come across a lot of stuff that can't be explained just by having 'ghosts' haunt a house."

"Ah, so you're a believer in the supernatural?" She grinned. "I've heard that your eldest sister – Fuutie, is her name, right? – is one of the biggest sceptics alive."

Syaoran froze. "You've been spying on us?"

"I 'haunt' the _family_, not the _house_." She giggled. "I know everything that happens with you all. Just like I know that Feimei has a date tomorrow night, Sheifa is considering dropping out of college, and Franren's actually been sneaking out and exploring the forest at night." She winked. "I also know things about your mother that I wouldn't dare repeat to her only son."

Syaoran was gobsmacked. "…Feimei actually managed to get a _date_?" All of a sudden, speaking to a ghost in his room who wouldn't tell him her name didn't seem so extraordinary. "Feimei, who chases the men away from the house and does weights every night, _actually _got a _date_?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, twirling again. "Oh, and to answer your question before; I _am_ a ghost… in a manner of speaking." She winked, disappearing into thin air again.

"Wait!" He jumped to his feet. "What do you mean 'in a manner of speaking'?!"

But she was gone.

**

* * *

**"Sneaking out for your _date_, _Nee-chan_?" Syaoran guffawed in a teasing manner from the top of the stairs, seeing his sister try to escape out the back door while everyone else was cooking the next evening.

She stared up at him in shock. "How'd you-?" She spluttered, blushing to the roots of her hair. Syaoran had to admit; she did look nice. She'd apparently bought a new dress for the evening, too, since he'd never seen that one before.

"A little birdie told me." Syaoran winked. "Have fun, I'll tell Mother you went out to study at a girlfriend's house, or something."

She smiled. "Thanks, Syaoran." She slipped outside. He waved.

He sighed, watching the door close behind her. "You're a good brother."

He jumped about a foot in the air, almost tripping down the steps. "I wish you wouldn't do that." He whispered. She'd taken to surprising him several times that day, suddenly appearing and disappearing behind him at random intervals. "And you still haven't told me your name."

"You're supposed to work it out." She whispered into his ear. The cold air that brushed against him where she would have had to lean in, were she corporeal, gave him chills. "Sorry, that's cold, isn't it?" She laughed, disappearing again.

"Damn ghost." He muttered to himself. "First she gets me lost. Now she's committed to making me wet myself." He grumbled. "Great, just _fucking_ great."

"I heard that!" Floated through the air, followed by laughter. Grimacing, Syaoran went to help his family in the kitchen.

* * *

**Just so no one is confused, Syaoran calling his sister 'Nee-chan' was just him teasing her. Because he's Chinese, he'll call them by their name most of the time, unless he's teasing them.**

**Until next time!**

**Sparkly Faerie**


	4. Chapter Three

**Hey guys. Since I updated SoY, I figured that I should update something else, too. wink**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

**Summary:** "It takes a special kind of person to see through deception and discover the truth. Spells, curses, to make one unseen. Unheard. Unknown to the outside world. Sometimes," she paused, "being invisible isn't all it's cracked up to be."

**Rating:** M

**Pairings:** SxS

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

* * *

**Invisible**

**Chapter Three**

Syaoran had long given up trying to find out the ghost's name, much to her amusement. She had hinted that she was someone he'd heard of since he moved in a month ago, but that wasn't that hard to believe – he'd had so many names and faces thrown at him that he had trouble remembering his own family at times. God knew it hadn't been like that before; Syaoran had never been a social butterfly, but with friends like Tomoyo, it was hard _not_ meeting people.

That wasn't to say that he wasn't enjoying his time in the spotlight. He'd already made the soccer team with minimal effort, topped his math class in the latest pop quiz, and put the school bully in his place when he tried to beat him up for telling him off for cutting in line at the school shop. He'd already become the 'local hero', as Tomoyo had proudly proclaimed that afternoon on the bus home.

Dropping his bag behind the door in his room, he figured that it would be best to get his homework over and done with. Though integrating exponential functions was far from his idea of fun, the work needed to be done; he'd never do it if he left it until later. As his mind focused on not screwing up his equations, the air temperature dropped by a few degrees. He groaned.

"Go away." He shooed the ghost away before she even became visible. She'd been quite annoying in the last few weeks; popping up at the most inconvenient times, such as in his classroom the day before. He'd been so shocked to see her leaning over Tomoyo's desk that he'd literally _yelped_ in surprise. He'd never been more embarrassed.

"Why?" She poked at him.

"Because I'm busy." He grated out, trying to block out her questioning.

"With what?"

"Homework." He bit.

"But how come you want me to leave?"

"Because you're _distracting_ me!" He hissed, not wanting to have to have his family overhear him talking to 'no one'.

"How am I distracting you?" She blinked innocently. "I wasn't saying anything until you started telling me to leave."

"Because I knew you were there!" He finally yelled at her. Honestly! She was just like a child!

"But I wasn't _doing_ anything!" She protested.

"Fuck off!" He suddenly yelled, throwing one of his shoes at her. It passed clean through her transparent body, but her offended expression was the same nonetheless. She disappeared with a huff as the door to his room opened.

"Who're you yelling at?" Sheifa stuck her head into the room.

Syaoran glared at her. "You! Now get out!"

Appalled at her little brother's manners, the elder woman shut the door, muttering curses under her breath as she made her way downstairs.

Chewing on the end of his pen, he sighed in relief as the room temperature rose. Confident that he was now alone, he set to work.

* * *

Syaoran had Tomoyo and Eriol over the next day. It was the usual agenda; homework, afternoon tea, homework, playing a game out in the yard – the usual game of one-on-one soccer between Syaoran and Eriol, while Tomoyo taped. It was the fifth such Friday night, when Tomoyo and Eriol would spend the night; Tomoyo took the spare room, and Eriol slept on the floor in Syaoran's room.

That afternoon, however, Tomoyo had the bright idea of exploring the forest. Syaoran had frowned, but had produced a battery-operated torch, and had told his mother that they would be out for a while; she had expressed concerns, but Tomoyo assured her that they wouldn't go too far. It had taken a while, but the three of them set out into the woods with a backpack each – just in case they decided to spend the night in the woods, if they so chose – and a map of the area. There were a few good camping grounds, Tomoyo had assured them, and they were likely to have been used recently, so it wouldn't be a hassle to get back to the main road, if they couldn't find the way back to the house.

Even so, Syaoran took to marking the trees that they passed with big red 'X's with a can of spray paint, having learnt from his last trek in the forest. Tomoyo had laughed at his story, much to his chagrin, while Eriol had relayed a similar experience in his youth – the fact that he was only four years old at the time, and was _not_ following the shadow of a dead girl, had lessened the embarrassment for him considerably. Nonetheless, they both had agreed that marking the trees was a wise idea, just in case they happened to get lost on the way back.

Coming upon one of the more secluded clearings, Tomoyo had expressed her delight, and had insisted that they stop there for the night. Agreeing, since it was getting rather dark, Syaoran had dumped his backpack, and had gone walking around the clearing, trying to find reception for his cell, in order to let his mother know what was happening.

Meanwhile, Eriol began to set up camp, while Tomoyo taped him. He cursed his long-time friend as he did all the work, his frown only deepening as she laughed at him for getting tangled up in the tent. Syaoran rescued him, though, pulling the tent off him with the strangest look Eriol had ever seen on his friend's face. "Mother wished us luck." He informed them. Looking over at the camera, he added, "And it looks like Eriol-kun needs it with the tent."

Tomoyo laughed as Eriol punched Syaoran in the shoulder, the pair of them semi-seriously glaring at each other before dissolving into laughter themselves. Afterward, is wasn't too long before the camp was set up; two tents – one larger than the other, for the two young men – were erected on either side of the cliché ring of stones, in which Tomoyo was now lighting a fire. Being the ever-resourceful girl she was, she had sprayed the entire stack of firewood with spray-on cooking oil to make it catch. Syaoran almost laughed as it nearly singed her eyebrows off with the flare that it had initially given, before dying out.

"Let's see _you_ do better." She huffed, her mood only souring as Syaoran eventually succeeded in lighting a small fire using kindling and a lighter, 'like any _sane_ person would have', Eriol had commented under his breath. "Shut up." Tomoyo growled to Syaoran's triumphant, teasing grin, disappearing into her tent.

"You really pissed her off." Eriol whistled under his breath, helping Syaoran build up their small fire. "She's scary when she's mad."

Syaoran shrugged. "Can't be any worse than Mother when she's in one of her moods." He commented lightly.

"You have _no_ idea." Eriol laughed. "Now, c'mon. I'm hungry."

"You're _always_ hungry." Syaoran jibbed. And it was almost true; Eriol ate more than any human being Syaoran had ever seen; not even his father had eaten that much, the old, fat bastard.

"Oi!"

It was to friendly bickering between the two that Tomoyo returned, her camera in hand. Her sour mood seemed to disappear at the sight of the pot set up over the now-roaring fire, with water boiling for ramen. "Dinner time already?"

"_Eriol-kun_ is hungry." Syaoran teased, elbowing said young man in the arm.

"Shut up." Eriol growled, sounding much like Tomoyo had earlier. The three of them laughed at themselves.

"I'm sure we all can manage not to…"

"Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo waved a hand in front of Syaoran's face after his words trailed off. "Syaoran-kun, are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Syaoran breathed as he stood, slowly and deliberately. "Yeah… I'll be… uh… right back." He made his way into the trees.

"Think he needs to use the bathroom?" Eriol asked, watching their friend disappear into the trees.

"Latrine is the other way." Tomoyo pointed out.

"Want to go spy?"

"Yes." Tomoyo replaced the disk in her camcorder. "Yes, I do."

* * *

The two of them crept silently behind Syaoran as he went even further into the trees. Getting nervous as they went further out, Eriol began to scratch markings into the trees that they passed, to find their way back.

It wasn't long before Syaoran came to a halt, seeming to watch the empty space in front of him very intently. "What are you doing out here?" He asked the empty space. Tomoyo and Eriol looked at each other as she set up her camera to tape, not even looking down at it. "I thought I asked you not to show up when I'm with my friends."

Their eyebrows only rose higher as he seemed to get angry at the empty space in front of him. "Bullshit! You only followed us out here to annoy me, admit it!"

Tomoyo glanced down at her camera, almost dropping it at what she saw. Tugging on Eriol's sleeve, she pointed at the screen. His eyes almost feel out of his head at the image.

The faint outline of a person was standing in front of Syaoran, but there was not enough detail to make out any features. All that Tomoyo and Eriol could tell was that this person had long hair, so they were most likely female. "The ghost from the house?" Eriol whispered.

"Dunno." Tomoyo looked up, as if she suddenly expected to see her standing in front of them. "Let's go back to camp."

Nodding, Eriol led the way back to camp, following the scratches that he'd made on the trees. "We speak not a word of this to him." Eriol suggested. "If he hasn't told us by now, he mustn't want us to know."

"Alright." Tomoyo agreed. "But there is no way in _hell_ I'm erasing that footage!" Eriol laughed as they reached camp, settling down on either side of the fire.

Syaoran returned a few minutes later, to find a cup of ramen presented to him. As he ate, he thought that his friends were acting a bit strangely, but brushed it off as his imagination. The night continued pleasantly thereafter.

* * *

At Tomoyo's insistence, Syaoran and Eriol had tagged along to her monthly visit to her old friend in the neighbouring town of Tomoeda. Tomoyo had use the excuse that 'Eriol-kun had been her friend too, and Syaoran-kun was living in her house, so he should thank her' in order to get them to agree. Syaoran was more interested, though, in spending the rest of the day in the town – actually being in the middle of civilisation for the first time in a month.

Spending a day out of the house was just what the doctor ordered, in his opinion. No nagging mother, no hyperactive sisters, and no ghosts to scare the crap out of him every few hours. He felt so at ease, despite the fact that he'd never set foot in the town before, besides having to go to school – he supposed a ghost-free place would most definitely be appealing to someone who'd had to put up with a playful spirit who was intent on annoying them as much as possible for a month.

The three of them left the bus outside the nursing home. Syaoran was looking around him, taking in the quaint little town; it was peaceful, with lots of plant life, and hardly anyone in the streets. It seemed like his kind of town.

The nurse at the front desk looked up when they entered. "Daidouji-san!" She smiled. "Are you here to visit Kinomoto-chan again?"

Tomoyo smiled. "Yes." She nodded to each of the boys behind her. "This is Hiiragizawa Eriol-kun and Li Syaoran-kun. Friends of mine from school."

"It's nice to meet you, boys." The nurse flashed them a friendly smile. "I'm sure you know your way by now, Daidouji-san. Jut give me a call if you need anything."

"Sure thing. Thanks." Tomoyo nodded, sweeping past the desk. Syaoran and Eriol scrambled to keep up with her; Syaoran was more than a little creeped out by all the old people that stared at them as they passed; old men with no teeth and old women with more wrinkles than an elephant's hide were watching them everywhere they went; some even called out to them in what seemed to be drunken stupors – these ones where quieted by the nurses in charge. "Here we are."

They'd come to a stop outside a closed door. Without missing a beat, Tomoyo pushed it open and slipped inside, motioning for the two boys to follow her.

It was so quiet inside, save for the whirr of the machines that kept the girl alive. The beeping of the heart monitor was the first thing that Syaoran noticed as he took a seat on the other side of the room; it was slow and steady, almost hypnotic, were it not for the shrill tone of the sound.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo greeted softly, sitting down next to the bed and taking her hand. "I'm back. And I brought friends." She smiled, stroking the comatose girl's hand softly. "You remember Eriol-kun, right? The three of us used to play together in kindergarten. And Syaoran-kun lives in your old house; Okaa-sama is renting it to his mother, so you'll have a lot of rent payments in the bank when you wake up."

_If she wakes up._ Syaoran corrected internally, eager to be out of there. He hated hospitals and, even though this wasn't strictly a hospital, it still creeped him out.

Casting his eye around, it landed on a picture on the side of the bed. A group of four stared out of the frame, smiling and happy. The two females in the picture, who appeared to be mother and daughter, shared the same vibrant green eyes. Eyes that looked so familiar to him. "That's Sakura-chan and her family when she was two." Tomoyo piped up, seeing where he was staring.

"Huh?" Syaoran snapped out of it.

"Sakura-chan is the little girl." Tomoyo stared at the frame fondly. "The lady is her Okaa; the other two are Touya-san and Kinomoto-san."

"Oh." Syaoran managed, slowly recognising the doll in the little girl's hand.

Time passed slowly as Tomoyo proceeded to read to Sakura from the novel that she'd brought with her. Tomoyo's words washed over him, lulling him to an almost-sleep as he lounged in the fairly comfortable armchair. The mystery identity of the ghost that haunted is home floated in and out of his head, nagging at him for no apparent reason – at least, until the reason for the familiarity struck him between the eyes.

Eyes snapping open from his light slumber, they fixed on the girl in the bed; he hadn't actually looked at her yet. He felt like slapping himself. The slope and curve of the nose, the shape of the ears, the contour of the cheeks, the eyes from the photograph.

"It's her."

"What?" Tomoyo looked up, pausing her reading.

"Uh…" Syaoran shook his head, not realising that he'd spoken out loud, "…nothing. Sorry, guys. I have to go." He raced out the door and out to the street.

"What was that all about?" Eriol asked Tomoyo.

"No idea." She shrugged, turning back to her reading.

* * *

**So, that was Chapter Three. I hope you enjoyed.**

**Until next time!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Oh. My. God.**

**It's been over a year.**

**I have nothing more to say. I am in shock.**

**Oh. And I changed the summary after this was posted.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

**Summary:** If there is a secret in the middle of nowhere, does that mean that no one will ever find the truth? Having just moved into remote Tomoeda, Syaoran immediately finds himself in the midst of something so strange that he can't even begin to describe it. SxS

**Rating:** M

**Pairings:** SxS

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

* * *

**Invisible**

**Chapter Four**

He couldn't get his mind off her pale form as he sat on the train. The other two sat across from him, Tomoyo leaning over to whisper something into Eriol's ear. Said young man nodded gravely, the pair of them averting his or her eyes as Syaoran looked up to glare at them. They took a moment before they looked at him again, when it was safe and they no longer held his attention.

As for himself, Syaoran was pale as a sheet. He'd stumbled into a public bathroom in the park, across from the nursing home where the shell of a girl dwelt, and had emptied his guts of all that he'd eaten that day. He felt a great sense of injustice that the girl could do nothing but lie there, day after day, thin as a skeleton and weak as a newborn, while her spirit went about growing up surrounded by strangers, and yet all alone.

Eriol found him, sitting on the floor in the public bathroom, some time after Syaoran had finished emptying the contents of his stomach. Eriol had told Tomoyo that the look on their new friend's face was one of the most severe masks of shock he'd ever seen.

* * *

No one was home when Syaoran returned. Thankful that the house was empty, he proceeded to make his way up to Sheifa's room, rummaging around in her drawers. He felt the drop in temperature that he'd come to associate with the ghost's presence, but chose to ignore it in favour of finding what he was after. He barely reacted as she came up behind him and leant over his shoulder to see what he was doing. "Your sister wont be happy with you."

"I don't care right now." He bit out, concentrating.

"What are you looking for?" She asked, somewhat disinterested, as she went out into the hall to look around for anyone coming. "And you'd better hurry; your mother just got home."

"Found it!" He stuffed it under his shirt, slamming the drawers shut and sprinting down the hall, locking himself in his own room. Curious, the ghost followed him, floating right through the door.

"The doll?" She piped up, interested as he scrubbed it with a dirty shirt and some saliva. "Why d'you want your sister's doll? I thought boys were more into guns than playing house."

"I don't want it." He grunted. "I just wanna check something."

Slowly, the doll came clean. He presented it to the ghost. "You said this was yours, right?" She nodded. "And you said that you were a ghost '_in a manner of speaking_'."

"You've found something!" She clapped excitedly.

"Yeah, I think I know who you are, now." He grinned, putting the doll away in his drawer.

"Well, then," she grinned mischievously, "who am I?"

"Kinomoto Sakura, right?" He ventured.

"Very good!" She clapped again. "How'd you find out?" She asked interestedly, appearing to sit on his chair and prop up her chin in her hands.

"How come you're a ghost if you're still alive?" He countered.

She paused. Her face fell. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She bit out as she disappeared.

"Aw, c'mon!" Syaoran groaned. "I just think it's sad is all." He spoke into the air, not knowing if she was there to hear him or not. "I mean, it's not fair that you have to just… float around, causing trouble for strangers instead of growing up like a normal person." This was greeted with silence, but as the temperature in the room had not yet risen, he was sure she was listening to him. "What _happened_ to you, Sakura?" He whispered.

"You really wanna know?" Came from behind him. She was leaning against the wall, staring out of the window into the trees. She looked at him, all the mischief gone from her eyes. She was, he realised, afraid of letting him know what had happened to her. He could see it in her vacant stare. He nodded silently.

She regarded him for a moment more. "…alright then. Field trip." She said in a flat voice. "C'mon."

* * *

Syaoran rubbed his hands together in the cold; not that it actually _did_ much, considering Sakura's presence, but it felt good to do something other than pick his way through the now dense foliage of the forest. The only reason that he'd even agreed to venture so far out was a promise he'd extracted from Sakura – that she'd lead him out at the end and not leave him stranded like the last time.

His flashlight shone right through the ghost in front of him, illuminating their way in the shadowy depths of the twilit forest – not that _she_ needed the light, since nothing actually _stopped_ her from making her way through the forest – making the more difficult terrain slightly easier for Syaoran to navigate. He'd stopped asking how close they were about a half hour ago; the sun was starting to set, and he was wondering if he'd have to call it a night and offer to go look tomorrow, when he had the whole day to cavort about the wilderness.

It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest this when she stopped. It was so sudden that he passed straight through her, yelping at the cold. Turning to give her an earful for tricking him like that, the words – both the suggestion and the rebuke – died before he had the chance to speak them. The sight of her stricken face was enough to stop anyone in their tracks. "What is it?" He asked softly.

Sakura crouched next to a slightly raised piece of earth. Putting a hand on the mound, she closed her eyes, pain showing plainly on her face. "Dig here." She instructed.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" She ordered. "You wanted to know what happened! This is a part of it!" Her voice softened again. "Besides… he deserves better than this."

Perplexed, Syaoran lowered his backpack. She'd told him that he'd need a shovel, but all he'd managed was a small garden spade. He soon discovered, as he slowly uncovered the traumatic image in front of him, that it would suffice for this mission. By the time he was finished unearthing what Sakura wanted to show him, he was white as chalk, his mind in a whirl as he recalled a story that he'd heard shortly after moving in.

"…_Touya-san went missing when we were six. He was only thirteen at the time. Just up and disappeared in the middle of the night. No one knows what happened to him. Some people think he's dead, but no one's ever found a body. He was classed as a runaway, and that was that. Nothing else ever happened about it…"_

He tried to reject what his eyes were telling him. But there was no getting around it.

He'd unearthed a skeleton.

* * *

"Your brother?" Syaoran found himself asking. "Is that Touya?"

"Yes." Sakura's voice was exhausted as she slid down to the ground, laying her hand on the cheek of the skull. "This is Touya."

"What _happened_?"

She looked up at him. "He was murdered." She said wearily. "Our stepmother killed him." Her voice was flat, very matter-of-fact. "Then she tried to kill me. She thought that by the time the ambulance got to me, I'd have already died." She pursed her lips.

"But _why_?" Syaoran demanded, horrified.

"She wanted my father's money. He got a lot from the life insurance fund when Okaa died. Something like… seven hundred million yen? With Touya and I gone, she was going to kill my father and inherit the lot." She sighed. "She didn't count on me living though. Then my father divorced her." She shrugged. "She realised that she wasn't going to get _anything_ from him, so she tampered with his brakes and caused him to have a car accident. He died on impact."

Syaoran had to sit down. "But… how did you…?" He waved up and down, indicating her state of transparency.

"I honestly have no idea." Sakura sighed. "I think it was just that I was so _mad_. First, she drove my Onii-san away. Then she _hurt_ me." Her eyes grew hard. "I wanted to make her pay for hurting my family. My Otou-san fell to pieces after Touya went missing. _She_ was the one 'looking after' me." She buried her face in her hands.

Syaoran couldn't think of a thing to say. He tried, a few times, to say something comforting, only to have the words stop at the lump that had developed in his throat. Finally, he stood and grabbed his things, startling his companion. As she stared up at him with questioning eyes, he stated, firmly, "I'm going to call the police. Maybe they wont be able to prove that your stepmother killed him. But at least your mother's cousin will give him a proper burial."

She stared at him in shock as he made his way out toward the road – he could hear the sounds of traffic through the trees, staring intently at his cell phone all the way. The second it picked up any reception, he dialled for the police and raised it to his ear.

* * *

There were a lot of awkward questions to be answered that night. What was he doing out in the woods so late? Why was he by himself, and in the dark? How did he actually _find_ the skeleton? Did he know who it was? Syaoran thought that his mother might have clouted him over the head, but she refrained, giving him only a small admonishment, and then crushing him to her in a hug so tight that he could barely breathe.

He barely slept. Sakura's presence was with him all the time; it was like she was afraid to leave him. She didn't speak – didn't even show herself – but was nevertheless there. He welcomed her presence when he awoke in the middle of the night, a cold sweat drenching his sheets as he dreamed up various horrible images revolving around teenaged boys and murder, little girls and falling.

And so he was very unprepared when he turned on the television the next morning, after everyone else had left for the day, to see his image splattered across every station on free-to-air television.

"_The body of Kinomoto Touya, who was reported missing over ten years ago, was unearthed last night by a local teenaged boy, hiking in the wilderness."_ The news reporter read. The news report showed various video recordings of the police as they excavated the body from it's shallow grave. What shocked Syaoran more was the video of himself talking to a police officer as the older man took his statement. He recalled how hard it'd been to talk like he knew nothing about the case. _"Having only moved into the area recently, Li Syaoran had no idea of what a ground-shaking discovery he'd stumbled upon. He informed officers that he'd simply been exploring the woods and had tripped over an upturned root, inadvertently unearthing part of what he later realised was a skull. He subsequently proceeded to dig up the body before notifying authorities."_

The scene on the television switched rather suddenly, to a shot of the nursing home where Sakura's body was being cared for, with the reporter walking slowly through the garden. _"Kinomoto Touya's closest living relative, his younger sister Kinomoto Sakura, has been in a coma for almost nine years. As a result of this finding, police are beginning to look at the 'accident' that rendered her comatose as an act of assault. While there has been no official statement into the findings thus far, police are promising to look into the matter further."_

He switched the channel, hearing much the same thing on every broadcast. Sakura sighed behind him, shaking her head. "It's a bit late for them to try now." She bitterly muttered. "They'll never prove it was her. I doubt they'd even be able to _find_ her."

Syaoran shrugged, a bit perturbed by the reports. "You never know. Stranger things have happened."

As Sakura was going to say something more, the phone rang. Sighing as Syaoran answered it, she set herself to watching the broadcast on another channel. She smiled slightly as she heard Tomoyo, hysterical, on the other end of the phone. "Tell her I said 'hi'." She told him.

Syaoran glared at her, mouthing '_yeah, right_' to her wicked grin. "No, I'm _not_ psychic, Tomoyo!" He insisted, pretending to ignore Sakura as she laughed. "It was just a coincidence, that's all. I swear!" He continued to argue with his friend for a few minutes, before Sakura's intake of – an unneeded – breath stopped him. Staring at the television, he quickly told Tomoyo "Sorry, I gotta go." before hanging up on her loud protests. Picking up the television remote, he turned up the volume until it was clear as a bell.

"_A new development in the Kinomoto case has just come to our attention."_ The reporter read excitedly. _"The former Mrs Kinomoto, stepmother to Kinomoto Touya and Sakura and former wife of Kinomoto Fujitaka, has just been arrested, following her questioning and subsequent confession to police. She confessed to both killings of father and son Kinomoto Fujitaka and Touya, and the attempted murder of the now-comatose Kinomoto Sakura in an attempt to inherit the money that her former husband inherited after his first wife's tragic death the year before. The former Mrs Kinomoto has been taken into custody by Tomoeda police. She is expected to be formally charged shortly. We will keep you updated on this riveting case as it unfolds."_

Syaoran stared slackjawed at the screen. "What in the…? How…?"

Sakura was just as speechless. "That was too fast." She whispered to herself. "I can't believe it!" She shouted with glee. "She's finally going to prison!"

"She must have known he was cornered." Syaoran mused. "There's no other reason that she would just… give up like that."

"I guess…" Sakura agreed. The pair of them sat in silence before Sakura's yelp brought him back to reality. "What the?"

He looked over at her, stunned to see a strange light glowing around her; just as shocked as she was. He shielded his eyes as the light grew too intense for him to handle, meaning to ask just what in the hell was going on as soon as he could hear over the roaring in his ears.

Fate was not so kind to him, though. As the brightness reached its peak, the temperature in the room suddenly rose to a normal temperature; the light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. When he was able to see again, he could see no sign of his friend.

"Sakura?" He asked in a whisper, as if he were afraid to speak. His shock made it difficult. "Sakura," his voice gained volume, "where are you? Are you still here?"

She didn't answer him. She was gone.

* * *

**Yes, this all happened **_**way**_** too fast. You know what? I don't care. I could have either told the story and finished it after leaving it for so long, or I could have dragged it out longer and longer and longer and never have gotten anywhere with it. To be honest, I don't know where I was going with this, so I'm making up a new ending.**

**The next chapter will be the last one.**

**Until next time!**

**Sparkly Faeire**


	6. Epilogue

**Last chapter. I actually wrote this whole thing the morning after the last update, but I wanted to leave it for a while. Then the document manager was down, and it sorta slipped my mind until just now.**

**It's not even really a chapter. It's more of an epilogue. Oh well.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

**Summary:** If there is a secret in the middle of nowhere, does that mean that no one will ever find the truth? Having just moved into remote Tomoeda, Syaoran immediately finds himself in the midst of something so strange that he can't even begin to describe it.

**Rating:** M

**Pairings:** SxS

**Genre:** Supernatural/Romance

* * *

**Invisible**

**Epilogue**

Sakura didn't turn up for another week.

Frankly, Syaoran was worried; not that she was in any imminent _danger_, but it was simply not like her to be absent for this long. She was always hanging around, making fun of him in any number of ways. He found that he missed that. Had he done something to upset her? Did she not want to bother with him now that the truth was widely known? He had a guess as to what had happened to her, but he didn't want to get his hopes up.

All the same, he had to know.

And so that was why, a week and a half after Sakura's disappearance, he found himself on the bus into town, one destination in mind. Alighting at the nearest bus stop, he hurried along to the facility, wondering if it was even visiting hours yet. It was only about ten in the morning, but he'd decided that he would wait until he was allowed in if they refused him.

He was in luck. The woman behind the counter nodded and smiled at him as he signed in, telling her what he was doing. He declined her offer of help; he knew where he was going, he said, and left the reception desk to traipse the corridor in search of one particular room. It had been a few weeks, but he remembered the way.

She was still there. Sakura's body was still hooked up to the various machines that had kept her alive for almost nine years; there were still wires attached to monitor her heartbeat, still tubes going in and out of her body, still an IV in her arm. As it had the last time, it caused Syaoran to avert his eyes for a moment. Once he'd seated himself next to the bed, he – with shaking hands – took her hand and began to talk.

"Look, I don't know if you can hear me…" he started, "…God, I don't even know if you're _here_… but…" he looked at her, "…I… I hope you are." He managed to get out. "Maybe now, if your spirit is back where it belongs… maybe you can wake up now." He half-smiled, looking up at her face again. Even white as a sheet, with various medical instruments going in and out of her body, she was really quite pretty.

He refused to allow himself to think of where that thought had come from, lowering his gaze to her hand and continuing with "It'd be great if that happened, you know. There are a lot of people who would give anything to see you wake up. Tomoyo-chan, for one. You know, she's always talking about you. Well, I know you _know_ that, since you heard her, but…" be babbled, "…well, she misses you. And your aunt is a nice lady. She misses your mother a lot; did you know that? And Eriol-kun; he's a cool guy. I think he'd like you." His voice choked up here.

His gaze shot up to her face; had he imagined it, or had he felt a slight pressure on his hand, like she'd given him a weak squeeze? Raking in her form, he could see no other signs of moment, and decided that it was only wishful thinking on his part. "And…" he managed to force out, "…well, I really miss you, Sakura." He bit his lip. "I like you a lot." He admitted. "Heh," he laughed at himself, refusing to admit that he was about to cry, "just my luck, huh? Falling in love with a ghost." He shook his head, disgusted at himself. "I must be the stupidest guy on Earth."

There was some silence after this. Syaoran, for the life of him, couldn't think of what to say – the silence stretched on for about five long, uncomfortable minutes before he stood, ready to leave…

…and was stopped dead in his tracks at a rather strange sound coming from behind him.

Whipping around, he could see Sakura's body thrashing about on the bed. The monitor was going wild, telling him that her heart was under some stress, beating almost twice as fast as normal. She was clawing at her neck, thrashing from side to side, gagging on the tubes that used her oesophagus as a passageway. The thing that startled him the most, though, was that her eyes were _wide open_!

He stood in shock for one eternal moment, before running into the hall and screaming, "Nurse! Nurse!"

What followed next happened so fast that Syaoran barely managed to breathe. He was told to wait outside the room while the nurses took to removing the immediate problem, since it appeared that Sakura could breathe on her own; they removed the tubes, holding a glass of water to her lips so that she could get some liquid into her dry mouth. She gagged a little on it, but managed to swallow most of it before shaking her head and refusing any more.

Then the ambulance arrived not long after. Sakura was wheeled out, much to the astonishment of everyone else in the building, propped up on the bed – she was still too weak to sit on her own – and looking around her wildly. Most stared in shock. A few people cheered. By the time that they were at the front door, they'd gathered a following of residents and nurses, all eager to see her off.

Syaoran watched, hanging back as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance. He'd just decided to catch the next bus to the hospital and find her there, when Sakura caught the arm of a paramedic as he was passing her, and frowned, trying to speak. The paramedic had to lean down and strain himself to hear her, but stared at her in astonishment when she was done. Finally, at her – silent – urging, he hopped out and looked around. "Hey," he called to Syaoran, "she wants you to come." He jerked his head toward the open doors. "Jump in."

Perplexed, Syaoran obeyed. He found that Sakura was staring at him quite intently, looking both confused and delighted at the same time. He realised that it was a lot for her to take in; being invisible in a crowd of people one week, and then being the centre of attention the next.

What followed was even worse than at the nursing home. She was taken into the ICU and examined by doctors for almost four hours before they declared that she was in absolutely perfect health, much to everyone's shock. She was relocated to a regular ward, the nurses given instruction to check on her every hour in case she happened to slip back under, and to make sure that she was comfortable; she was still too weak to move on her own.

Syaoran sat down at the seat next her bed, finding himself unable to tear his gaze from her face. For the life of him, he couldn't think of what to say, but found his cheeks burning at the look in her eye – it told him that she'd heard everything that he'd said just before she woke up. _Everything_.

She strained to speak. Leaning closer, so that his ear was just a fraction of an inch from her mouth, he managed to catch her rasp – her voice was scratchy with disuse – out "Thank you… for… everything, Syaoran… and I… like you too."

* * *

Six months later, the two of them walked through the park in town, eating ice cream and chatting away. Sakura's cheeks had regained their healthy colour, and her voice had fully returned. For the most part, things between Syaoran and Sakura were the same as they had always been; she teased him mercilessly, and he attempted to take it in stride, ignoring her barbs – only now he did it with a good-natured grin and the occasional quip in return.

Tomoyo still couldn't get over the whole thing. Sakura had told her everything about her time 'in a coma', including the fact that Syaoran had known her since before she woke up. Tomoyo had gushed that it was like a fairytale – "Yeah, a _fractured_ fairytale." Syaoran had grumbled, to Sakura's amusement – and how it showed that the two of them were meant to be. Syaoran's cheeks had almost caught on fire.

Eriol had just whistled low and said that they were all lucky that Syaoran had come into town in that case; otherwise she could have haunted that house forever. Everyone agreed with him, even if some were more vocal about it than others.

On Sakura's part, she felt that she couldn't have had better luck. Syaoran had saved her life – she felt this in the literal sense; she knew she wouldn't have woken up if he hadn't given her that pretty large incentive. That week in the darkness inside her own body was terrifying. She was immeasurably happy that she'd been able to force herself awake.

Although, she joked, she kind of missed being able to walk through walls.

As the legal owner of Syaoran's house, she'd allowed the family to continue living there, and had instead moved in with her cousins. She was currently trying to catch up on her schooling, since she had been rendered comatose since the second grade. Astonishingly, she'd tested right into the eighth, and was currently in the middle of finishing the ninth; she had proven to be an extremely hard worker, wanting to make up for lost time.

As it grew dark, the two of them slipped in between a few trees. Syaoran had his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist. She was still in the middle of rehabilitation, but she was able to walk around like a normal person; she just wasn't able to run great distances, or perform many athletic feats, much to her disappointment. But still, she reasoned as the two of them sat on a tree stump in the sunset – technically, he sat on the stump and she sat on his lap – things could have been worse.

At least she wasn't invisible anymore.

**THE END**

* * *

**And therein concludes Invisible.**

**I couldn't believe when I looked at it last week that it had been over a year since I updated this story. With finishing up school and starting work, I guess my writing just got left behind – especially now that I've begun to play an MMORPG again (whenever I disappear for a long period of time, you can pretty much assume that I'm playing **_**Dofus**_**). I've got little bits and pieces floating around on my (new) computer of new and old stories, but I want to see if I can finish what I have before I start something else.**

**Anyway. That's this story finished. Only four more to go. -sigh-**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sparkly Faerie**


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